Posts aboutShipping

As the melting of ice in the Arctic region intensifies due to increased human activity in the Arctic region, the possibility of using the region for marine transportation purposes also increases. Whereas in the past vessels would have to be escorted by heavy ice breakers, the complete disappearance of or reduction in size of ice has resulted in customized transportation vessels that can also act as moderate ice breakers to emerge. These customized vessels require no escort and have been able to cover vast distances in the Arctic region in… Read more

The global marine freight industry has struggled in recent years, suffering from a negative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3% between 2012 and 2016 amid an increasing oversupply and a collapse of global demand, according to research firm MarketLine. The company’s latest report states that economic growth slowed across most of the world over this period, particularly in China, which has recently been the source of much consumer demand. This resulted in a fall in demand for transportation services in general, which forced prices down and led players to… Read more

The global air freight sector has shown varied growth and declines between 2012 and 2016, registering an overall compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.7% between 2012 and 2016 to reach a value of $101.3 billion, according to data from research company MarketLine. MarketLine’s latest report shows that the air freight sector’s growth is primarily driven by the Middle East and Asia-Pacific (APAC) as a result of increased manufacturing. With an under-developed internal market, opportunity for future growth is also possible, particularly in larger countries like China and India. Paul… Read more

The lending channel between many industries and banks in the Euro area has been far from normal since 2008. This factor puts Britain in a better position to negotiate Brexit next year. The Euro area will embark on a period of further unprecedented slowdown by detaching itself from the world’s fourth largest economy. Credit to industries coming from the banking sector is key for the region to grow as the single currency area has a bank-based model as opposed to a capital market model. Debt financing to companies is largely… Read more

At the present time the primary difficulty with the ship freight industry is one of oversupply, and the gulf between capacity and demand is growing still further. Market conditions are reigning in even the most competitive companies: Maersk, the Danish conglomerate and a leading company in the sector, is cutting jobs and has cancelled an order for six of the huge Triple-E super tankers. In such an environment, Hanjin cannot hope to survive – the demand simply does not exist for such a company anymore. No matter the quality of… Read more

The beaches of Alang in India and Gadani in Pakistan are major worldwide centres of the ship breaking industry. Together with Chittagong in Bangladesh, these breaking yards are also notorious for poor working conditions, health and safety issues and environmental concerns. In June 2014 for example, five people were killed and at least ten were injured following an explosion in a chemical tanker that was being salvaged and scrapped in Alang. The explosion was triggered by a suspected gas leak. With the nearest hospital 50km away in Bhavnagar, there are… Read more

The melting of the Polar ice caps has opened the potential for a new shipping route which could cut thousands of kilometres between Asia and Europe, offering long-term hope for the shipping industry. The North Sea Route, a Russian regulated shipping lane between Murmansk in the Barents Sea and the Bering Strait, has seen over 213 applications to date in 2013, with 204 approved. Compared to 2012, where only 46 ships sailed, and two the previous year. Historically, the route was always limited by frozen waters. As climate change persists,… Read more